Method and article of shoe manufacture



I J n. 28, 1969 H. R. SNOW 3,423,854

METHOD AND ARTICLE OF SHOE MANUFACTURE Filed March 21, 1966 Sheet of 2 INVENTOR.

F G 3 BY HENRY R. SNOW Jan. 28, 1969 Filed March 21, 1966 H. R. SNOW METHOD AND ARTICLE OF SHOE MANUFACTURE Sheet 2 of2 INVENTOR.

HENRY R. SNOW BY United States Patent 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lasted shoe and process for manufacturing the same in which a double-faced adhesive sheet element is used to temporarily maintain a lasted shoe element and a sole element in registration during completion of the shoe.

The adhesive sheet element is positioned between a lasted sole element and an underlying sole element and remains in the finished shoe and forms a part thereof.

This invention relates to shoemaking in general, and more particularly to a method of shoemaking wherein an adhesive means is employed to temporarily secure a sole element to at least one shoe element that covers the entire bottom of a last during the lasting operating and to the article produced by this method of shoe construction.

Often in the manufacture of shoes it is desirable to temporarily secure a sole element to one or more elements of a shoe which at that time covers the entire bottom of the last. For example, in the construction of Littleway Lockstitch shoes, after the upper has been lasted, the midsole or outsole is temporarily affixed to the lasted upper. The last is then withdrawn and the upper and sole element are stitched together by the Littleway Lockstitch process. The subsequent steps of last reinse'rtion and finishing are well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described.

Traditionally, the temporary attachment of the sole element to the lasted upper has been by the application of a viscous cement to the bottom of the upper and thereafter the two parts are pressed together in a sole-laying press. Recently, thermoplastic cement has sometimes been used for this purpose. Unfortunately, both types of adhesives can create a number of problems in the shoe making process which, under certain conditions, can produce an appreciable increase in the cost per unit of manufacture. For example, the cement must be neither too soft nor too hard at the time of pressing the sole element to the lasted upper. If the cement is too soft during the pressing operation, there may be slippage of the sole element from its spotted relationship with respect to the upper. Such slippage will require the operator to peel off the sole, recement and then respot and press the sole element again. Obviously, each of these operations increases the average time consumed per shoe, and hence raises the cost per unit of manufacture. Moreover, too often during the course of temporarily cementing the sole element to the lasted upper, excess cement is squeezed out from between the sole element and the upper, or strings of the cement may adhere to the upper outside of the desired contact area thereby requiring a subsequent cleaning operation and introducing the possibility of physical damage to the upper.

It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide a method of shoemaking which eliminates the aforementioned inherent disadvantages of cement attachment.

It is a specific object of the invention to provide an improved method of shoemaking in which a sole element is temporarily secured by adhesive means to one or more elements of the shoe that cover the entire bottom of the last.

It is another object of the invention to provide a shoemaking process in which the adhesive means utilized to temporarily secure the sole element to the lasted upper remains in the finished shoe and forms an operative and integral part thereof.

It is a feature of the present invention that if the sole element is incorrectly spotted on the lasted shoe element, it can be respotted without requiring additional adhesive means.

It is another feature of the invention that the slippage between the sole element and the lasted shoe element during the sole pressing operation is substantially eliminated.

In the accomplishment of these objects, I employ a double faced adhesive means, preferably a tape having an adhesive coating on both surfaces. The adhesive can be either pressure sensitive or thermosensitive, although I have found that the pressure sensitive adhesives are more desirable in terms of operational simplicity. Once the shoe has been lasted to the point where the entire bottom surface of the last is covered by one or more elements of the shoe and the lasted shoe is ready for sole attaching, the double faced, adhesively coated tape is affixed t0 the lasted shoe element or elements along the longitudinal axis thereof. The sole element is then pressed against the tape, either by hand or by machine, to temporarily secure the two elements together. It is not necessary to cover the entire length of the lasted shoe element or elements with the adhesively coated tape in order to achieve sufficient holding power between the shoe and sole elements during the subsequent process. The further soling and the finishing of the shoe are performed in a conventional manner.

The above mentioned objects and features and other objects and features of the invention will best be understood from a more detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration, and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation showing a double face adhesively coated tape being applied to a lasted upper positioned within a cradle;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation showing the double faced adhesively coated tape applied to the lasted upper before the tape is cut;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tape and lasted upper shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a roll of double faced adhesively coated tape showing an interleaved, nonsticking liner;

FIG. 5 is a view in cross-section taken along lines 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a representational view in cross-section of a true moccasin showing the physical relationship of the vamp, tape and sole element in the finished shoe;

FIG. 7 is a representational view in cross-section of a plural sole shoe showing the tape positioned between the insole and midsole;

FIG. 8 is a representational view in cross-section of a plural sole shoe showing the tape positioned between the midsole and outsole; and,

FIG. 9 is a representational view in cross-section showing the use of the adhesively coated tape in a Littleway Lockstitch shoe.

Turning now to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3 thereof, there is shown in side elevation and plan View, a method of applying an adhesive means, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, to a lasted upper 12 which covers the entire bottom surface of a last 14. The lasted upper 12 rests in a substantially horizontal bottom up position in a cradle 16 located at the operators normal hand working height with the heel portion of the shoe facing in the direction of the operator.

The adhesive means 10, which is shown in greater detail in FIGURE 4, comprises a tape 18 having an adhesive coating 20 on both of its faces. As mentioned previously, the adhesive may be either thermosensitive or pressure sensitive, although the latter type is generally preferable in terms of convenience and ease of handling. Preferably, the tape 18 should be manufactured with a woven fabric backing to provide sufficient tensile strength and a receptive base or substrate for the adhesive coatings 20. Alternatively, a paper backing can be employed as the substrate, albeit with some reduction in strength. Various types of pressure sensitive and thermosensitive double faced tapes which are known to those skilled in the art can be employed in the practice of my invention. See for example, United States Patent No. 3,052,904, Reid et 211., issued Sept. 11, 1962, and the United States patents cited therein.

Referring to FIGURE 4, double faced, adhesively coated tapes of this type are normally spooled around a hollow, cylindrical core 22 with a nonadhesive liner 24 positioned between successive layers of the tape to prevent premature adhesion. Collectively, the tape, liner and core comprise a tape supply roll 26 that is free to rotate about a shaft or spindle 28, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

The shaft 28 is mounted in a horizontal position by means (not shown) which locate the shaft at a point approximately twice the outside diameter of the full supply roll 26 beyond and above the toe of the shoe as measured along a line extending upwardly from the lasted upper 12 at an approximate angle of 45. With the supply roll in this position, the operator can easily reach forward over the lasted upper and grasp the leading end of liner 24. Before beginning the taping operation, the operator should remove approximately three inches from the leading end of the tape 18 so that the nonadhesive liner 24 extends beyond the adhesive tape thereby providing a convenient handle to pull the tape and liner towards the operator.

Assuming that the tape supply roll 26 is prepared as described above and the shoe is ready for sole laying with at least one shoe element 30 (such as the bottom of lasted shoe upper 12) covering the entire bottom surface of the last 14, the operator is now ready to temporarily secure a sole element 32 (FIGS. 6-9) to the shoe element 30. Using the free end or handle of liner 24 as a hand grip, the operator draws the tape 18 and liner from the supply roll 26 centrally over the bottom of the lasted upper 12 or shoe element 30 until the leading end of the tape is about a half an inch from the heel end of the shoe. The tape is adhered to the shoe element or elements 30 by pressing down on the liner 24 commencing at the heel of the shoe and working forwardly toward the toe of the shoe conforming the tape to the longitudinal curvature of the shoe element 30. The downwardly directed, forwardly moving adhering pressure is terminated approximately two inches short of the toe.

The liner 24 is then peeled forwardly away from the adhered tape 18 to a point about two inches beyond the toe. With the liner pulled away from the tape, as shown in FIG. 2, the tape is cut (either manually or mechanically) at a point marked X which is located beyond the place where the tape is adhered to the shoe element 30 and short of the point where the liner is in contact with the tape. Using the illustrative dimensions mentioned above, this will leave about an inch of the tape free from both the liner and shoe element. This end of the tape is then pressed down against the shoe element, using the overlying liner as a nonadhesive pressing means. The excess liner 24 can then be cut at the point marked X in FIG. 2 to provide a convenient handle for use on the next lasted upper.

The tape 18 should stop approximately an inch short of the toe. If a corner of the tape happens to extend outwardly beyond the area that will be hidden by the sole element 32, the corner of the tape can be folded back on itself so that it will not be visible in the finished shoe. Since the shoe bottom is compoundly curved, wrinkles are bound to appear in the tape as it is pressed down against the shoe element or elements 30. However, such wrinkles will be buried in the shoe and will not affect the etficacy of the tape because of the double faced adhesive coating. The shoe is now ready for sole spotting and subsequent finishing in a conventional manner.

Referring to FIGURES 6 through 9 which illustrate in representational form various configurations of the finished shoe, it can be seen that in a true moccasin construction (FIG. 6) the double-faced tape 18 is positioned between the overlying shoe element or vamp 30a and the sole element 32a. For purposes of clarity, the adhesive coatings 20 have not been depicted in FIGURES 6 through 9. However, it should be understood that the tape 18 shown in these figures actually is double coated as illustrated in FIGURE 5. Similarly, in the case of a plural sole shoe the tape 18 can be positioned between the overlying insole 30b and midsole 32b, as shown in FIGURE 7, or between a midsole 30c and outsole 320 (FIG. 8). In general terms, it will be appreciated that the double faced tape 18 is located between the upper face of a sole element 32b and the bottom face of the overlying shoe element 30.

Although FIGURES 6, 7, and 8 depict a single shoe element 30, the invention is applicable for plural shoe elements, as illustrated by elements 30d and 30e in the Littleway Lockstitch construction shown in FIGURE 8. It will be appreciated that shoe elements 30d and 30a together completely cover the bottom surface of the last 14 when the shoe is positioned as shown in FIGURES l, 2, and 3.

Looking at FIGURES 6 through 9, is can be seen that the double faced adhesively coated tape 18 is not removed from the shoe but instead forms an integral part of the finished shoe. This particular form of shoe construction is advantageous because it substantially eliminates the possibility of squeaks developing between the two surfaces which the tape adjoins, if both surfaces are of dry leather. I have found that this feature is achieved in two ways: first, by physically separating the areas of the two surfaces that are subjected to the greatest pressure, i.e., the center of the shoe along the longitudinal axis; and, secondly, by inhibiting the variable parallel motion or rubbing of the two surfaces caused by the flexing of the shoe as the wearer walks. Preferably, the longitudinally extending tape 18 should occupy at least fifty percent of the area defined by the opposed faces of the sole element 32 and the overlying shoe element 30 in order to achieve maximum quietness, i.e., nonsqueakiness.

Having described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the invention. For example, although the invention has been described in connection with certain types of shoes for purposes of illustration, its applicability is not limited thereto. Furthermore, while the method of applying the double faced tape to the shoe element or elements has been described as a manual operation, it can be semi or completely automated with appropriate machinery. Similarly, the tape itself can take other forms, as long as the adhesive means has two opposed or oppositely facing adhesive surfaces.

What I claim is:

1. A method of shoemaking comprising the steps of: lasting a shoe to the point where the entire bottom of the last is covered by at least one element of the shoe; temporarily securing a sole element to said lasted shoe element by an adhesive element in sheet form having an adhesive coating on both surfaces thereof to maintain said elements in registration during completion of the shoe; and, completing the manufacture of said shoe without removing said adhesive element.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said shoe element and sole element comprise, respectively, a genuine moccasin vamp and a midsole.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said shoe element and sole element comprise, respectively, a midsole and an outsole.

4.. The method of claim 1 wherein said shoe elements comprise an upper and an insole and said sole element comprises an outsole.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said adhesive means comprises a sheet material having an adhesive coating on both sides thereof.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said sheet material is a double faced tape having a coating of thermosensitive adhesive on each of said faces.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said sheet material is a double faced tape having a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on each of said faces.

8. A shoe permanently incorporating an adhesive element in sheet form having an adhesive coating on both surfaces thereof, said adhesive element being positioned below a lasted sole element and adhered to the upper face of an underlying sole element along the longitudinal axis of the shoe.

9. The shoe of claim 8 further characterized by said adhesive element covering at least fifty percent of the total area of contact between said lasted sole element and said underlying sole element including the area of the adhesive element itself.

10. The shoe of claim 8 further characterized by said adhesive coating comprising a pressure sensitive adhesive.

11. The shoe of claim 8 further characterized by said adhesive coating comprising a thermosensitive adhesive.

12. The shoe of claim 8 further characterized by said adhesive element covering at least fifty percent of the area defined by the opposed faces of said sole lasted element and said underlying sole element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,707,340 5/1955 Scala 36l9.5 2,990,626 7/1961 Bowen 36-19.5 3,105,985 10/1963 Reid et al. 12-142 3,116,501 1/1964 Markevitch 12l42 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

